Method and system for transforming message logs into images

ABSTRACT

A method is provided for transforming message logs into images. The method comprises the step of receiving a message log comprising a plurality of messages. The method further comprises the step of selecting a content of at least one message. In addition, the method comprises the step of transforming the content block-wise into decimal numbers. Furthermore, the method comprises the step of associating each decimal number with a color value thereby translating each message into a sequence of symbols. Moreover, the method comprises the step of generating an image from the symbols of the plurality of messages.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to transforming message logs into images,especially for transforming service primitives of a communicationmessage log generated by a communication device according to a certainprotocol.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, a communication device generates messages, also known asservice primitives, according to a certain protocol. These messages canbe collected through a message log, which lists the sequence ofprimitives exchanged between the different layers of the protocol.Normally, the message log is associated to a test with a definedpurpose, for instance achieving a target throughput or verifying acertain functionality. In this case, a designated message analysisdevice performs the analysis of the messages in order to identifywhether or not the test criteria are met.

For example, the document U.S. Pat. No. 7,272,800 B2 shows a messageanalysis device for storing and displaying messages by means of a parentand/or child generation of a specific message. The device can thereforeevaluate information from a message header to determine and representthose parent-generation messages that casually triggered a specificmessage and/or those child-generation messages that are causallydetermined by the specific message.

However, such analysis of the test run is performed either by a human orby a script, which requires a significant amount of human intervention.Furthermore, modern testing approaches are adapted to usemachine-learning algorithms to infer the problem out of a large numberof message logs. The machine-learning algorithms in this setting mostlyanalyze text logs. Regardless of their simplicity and conventionalapplication, text logs are not a suitable representation for messagelogs since many service primitives cannot be described by text.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide a method and a system fortransforming message logs into images in order to facilitate the usageof a vast library of machine-learning algorithms.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, a method is provided fortransforming message logs into images. The method comprises the step ofreceiving a message log comprising a plurality of messages. The methodfurther comprises the step of selecting a content of at least onemessage. In addition, the method comprises the step of transforming thecontent block-wise into decimal numbers. Furthermore, the methodcomprises the step of associating each decimal number with a color valuethereby translating each message into a sequence of symbols. Moreover,the method comprises the step of generating an image from the symbols ofthe plurality of messages.

Therefore, the invention relates to an approach for translating messagelogs into images and thereby usher the usage of many well-establishedmachine-learning algorithms. Herein, each message or primitive istranslated into its binary content, which is always defined sinceprimitives are created and processed in digital computers that representthese primitives through a finite alphabet (e.g., bits or bytes). Theblock-wise transformation can be based on, for instance a byte assignedper block value. With the designated color value per blocks, eachmessage is translated into a sequence of symbols and an image can begenerated thereof from the plurality of messages.

According to a first preferred implementation form of said first aspectof the invention, the method further comprises the step of continuouslyreceiving the plurality of messages in a chronological order and therebytransforming the messages sequentially. Additionally or alternatively,the message log can be received as a whole and therefore can beprocessed as a whole. Advantageously, the message log can be translatedinto an image with a greater flexibility.

According to a second preferred implementation form of said first aspectof the invention, the method further comprises the step of selecting thecontent according to a predefined metric adapted for machine learninganalysis. Advantageously, pattern analysis by means of machine learningalgorithms can be performed in a simplified manner.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said firstaspect of the invention, a length of the sequence of symbols is definedby a respective length of a message. Advantageously, the message istranslated into a sequence of symbols with ease.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said firstaspect of the invention, the image corresponds to a matrix having afinite dimension, where the elements of the matrix correspond to thesymbols of the plurality of messages. In this context, the messages canbe stacked on top of each other as row vectors or beside each other ascolumn vectors. Advantageously, the image generation by means of thematrix facilitates further flexibility.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said firstaspect of the invention, the length of the matrix or the number of rowsin the matrix correspond to the number of messages in the message log.In addition, the width of the matrix or the number of columns in thematrix correspond to the longest possible length of a message, which isavailable in the message log at the time of transformation. Additionallyor alternatively, the length and width of the matrix may correspond to apredefined number. Herein, a predefined number could rely on statisticalobservation of the data, for instance 99% of the message logs have anumber of messages between 50 and 100. Thus, the predefined number forthe length and/or the width of the matrix as well as for the image canbe 100.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said firstaspect of the invention, the method further comprises the step ofpadding a message with zeroes in the case the length of the message isshorter than the width of the matrix. Additionally, the method furthercomprises the step of transforming a message up to the width of thematrix in the case the length of the message is longer than the width ofthe matrix. Alternatively, in the case of a statistically predefinednumber, the width of the matrix resp. the width of the image is fixed tothe predefined number by padding a message having shorter length thanthe predefined number with zeroes. In addition, a message log havingsmaller number of messages than the predefined number would also bepadded with zeroes and a message log having greater number of messagesthan the predefined number would only be processed up to the predefinednumber. Consequently, all messages are padded to a common length withrespect to the resolution of the matrix resp. the resolution of theimage based on the padding length either specific to the message log orderived by the analysis of a large number of message logs.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said firstaspect of the invention, the color value is a greyscale color valuehaving a range of 0 to 255. Advantageously, the message contents in termof blocks are easily distinguishable for pattern analysis by means of,for instance machine-learning algorithms.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said firstaspect of the invention, the method further comprises the step ofsectioning the plurality of messages into at least two subgroupsaccording to a predefined criteria. In this context, the subgroups ofthe plurality of messages are interchangeable. Therefore, the messagesare sub-divided into groups based on a criterion that is defined by forinstance, the layers or parts of the layers of a protocol between whichthe message is transmitted, time sections of the message log, type ofprimitives and so on.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said firstaspect of the invention, the method further comprises the step ofdefining a specific matrix for each subgroup having a common dimension.Hence, the subgroups collectively represent layers of matrices withfinite symbols, having common lengths and widths.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said firstaspect of the invention, the method further comprises the step ofgenerating a three-dimensional image corresponding to the matrices ofthe subgroups. Additionally, the three-dimensional image can begenerated either from all the messages in the message log or from aselective number of subgroups according to the predefined criteria.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a system is provided fortransforming message logs into images. The system comprises an interfaceunit adapted to receive a message log comprising a plurality ofmessages. The system further comprises a selection unit adapted toselect a content of at least one message. Moreover, the system comprisesa translation unit adapted to perform block-wise transformation on thecontent for transforming the content into decimal numbers. In thiscontext, the translation unit is further adapted to associate eachdecimal number with a color value in order to translate each messageinto a sequence of symbols, thereby generating an image from the symbolsof the plurality of messages. Advantageously, the system transformsmessage logs into images and thereby facilitates the usage of manywell-established machine-learning algorithms.

According to a first preferred implementation form of said second aspectof the invention, the interface unit is further adapted to receive theplurality of messages continuously in a chronological order and wherebythe messages are sequentially transformed by the translation unit.Additionally or alternatively, the interface unit may receive themessage log as a whole and therefore the translation unit may processthe message log as a whole. Advantageously, the message log can betranslated into an image with a greater flexibility.

According to a second preferred implementation form of said secondaspect of the invention, the system further comprises a control unitadapted to provide a control signal to the selection unit for contentselection, corresponding to a predefined metric, which is adapted formachine learning analysis. Advantageously, pattern analysis by means ofmachine learning algorithms can be performed in a simplified manner.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said secondaspect of the invention, the control unit is further adapted to providea control signal to the translation unit corresponding to transformationparameters in order to perform the block-wise transformation of thecontent. Herein, the transformation parameters can be based on, forinstance a byte value for each block, a color value for each block andso on.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said secondaspect of the invention, the system further comprises a storage unit forstoring the plurality of messages of the message log in thechronological order. Therefore, the messages of the message log aresorted within the storage unit based on their order of generation byutilizing, for instance the time stamp associated with them.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said secondaspect of the invention, the storage unit is updated periodically.Advantageously, the reliability of message reception is significantlyimproved.

According to a further preferred implementation form of said secondaspect of the invention, the system is adapted to receive a set ofmessage logs via the interface unit, each comprising a plurality ofmessages. In this context, the translation unit is further adapted togenerate a set of images corresponding to the set of message logs eithercollectively or separately. Thus, numerous images are available for postprocessing and post synthesizing through machine-learning algorithms inorder to perform error diagnosis, particularly the root cause analysisfor test case failure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are now further explained withrespect to the drawings by way of example only, and not for limitation.In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of the method according to thefirst aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the system according to thesecond aspect of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a message exchange scenario between different layers of aprotocol by way of an example;

FIG. 4 shows a first exemplary embodiment of block-wise transformationscheme for the messages of a message log;

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary generated image of a message log; and

FIG. 6 shows a second exemplary embodiment of block-wise transformationscheme for the messages of a message log.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. However, the following embodiments of the present inventionmay be variously modified and the range of the present invention is notlimited by the following embodiments.

In FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of the method according to the firstaspect of the invention is illustrated. In a first step 100, a messagelog is received that comprises a plurality of messages. In a second step101, a content of at least one message of the plurality of messages isselected. In a third step 102, the content is transformed block-wiseinto decimal numbers. In a fourth step 103, each decimal number isassociated with a color value so as to translate each message into asequence of symbols. Finally, in a fifth step 104, an image is generatedfrom the symbols of the plurality of messages.

In FIG. 2, an exemplary embodiment of the system 10 according to thesecond aspect of the invention is illustrated. The system 10 comprisesan interface unit or an input/output module 11 connected to a storageunit or a memory 13, which is further connected to a selection unit 14,which is moreover connected to a translation unit 15. The system 10further comprises a display 19 connected to the translation unit 15.Moreover, the system comprises a control unit 16 adapted to receivecontrol commands from the interface unit 11 and further adapted togenerate control signals for the selection unit 14, translation unit 15and the display 19. In this regard, the control unit 16 is connected tothe interface unit 11 and respectively to the selection unit 14,translation unit 15 and the display 19 via signal lines (e.g., buslines).

It is to be noted that the selection unit 14, the translation unit 15and the control unit 16 can be constituted on a processing unit orprocessor performing the designated tasks en bloc. In this context, theprocessor may also be referred to as microcontrollers, microprocessors,microcomputers, etc., which may further be configured in hardware,firmware, software, or a combination thereof. The storage unit 13 caneither be a dedicated memory to the interface unit 11 or can be a memorystacked along with the processor, especially within the selection unit14. Therefore, the memory can further store the programs required fordata processing and controlling of the processor and may temporarilystore input and output information. In this case, the interface unit 11is directly connected to the selection unit 14 either wirelessly or viacables.

The interface unit 11 preferably acts as an input/output interface for auser, for instance as a graphical user interface. The interface unit 11further allows data input in order to receive messages of message logseither sequentially or in a stack. The messages are thereby stored inthe storage unit 13 in a chronological order. The user may furtherprovide control commands to the control unit 16 through the interfaceunit 11 for generating control signals. In this context, the controlunit 16 generates a control signal 17 to the selection unit 14 forselecting a content of a message. The control unit 16 further generatesa control signal 18 to the translation unit 15 for performing theblock-wise transformation of the content.

The resulting image can be displayed on the display 19, where the usercan manipulate the display 19, for instance through the interface unit11 and correspondingly via the control unit 16, in order to select aspecific image or part of an image to be displayed. Alternatively, theimage can be further stored in the storage unit 13 and can be outputtedthrough the interface unit 11 for post-processing in a device externalto the system 10. As a result, the message transformation as well as theimage generation are performed in a controllable manner.

In FIG. 3, a message exchange scenario between different layers of aprotocol is illustrated by way of an example. Each protocol thatcommunicates in a layered architecture, for instance based on the OSIReference Model, communicates in a peer-to-peer manner with its remoteprotocol entity. Communication between adjacent protocol layers (i.e.within the same communications node) are managed by exchanging messagesor primitives, between the layers. Generally, a variety of actions areassociated with the primitives including but not limited to Connect,Data, Flow Control and Disconnect. Along FIG. 3, six messages orprimitives 20 ₁, 20 ₂, 20 ₃, ²⁰ ₄, 20 ₄, 20 ₆ are illustrated, which areexchanged between the layers 21, 23, 25 of a protocol, according totheir order of occurrences.

In particular, the first message 20 ₁ is exchanged between layers 21 and23 directing towards the layer 23. The second message 20 ₂ is exchangedbetween layers 23 and 25 directing towards the layer 25. The thirdmessage 20 ₃ is exchanged between layers 21 and 23 directing towards thelayer 21. The fourth message 20 ₄ is exchanged between layers 23 and 25directing towards the layer 23. The fifth message 20 ₅ is exchangedbetween layers 21 and 23 directing towards the layer 23. Lastly, thesixth message 20 ₆ is exchanged between layers 23 and 25 directingtowards the layer 23. The messages 20 ₁, 20 ₂, 20 ₃, 20 ₄, 20 ₄, 20 ₆are generally stacked in a message log 20 in an analogous way to theirorder of occurrences.

In FIG. 4, a first exemplary embodiment of block-wise transformationscheme for the messages of a message log 20 is illustrated. A messagespecific content is selected for each messages and are respectivelytransformed into blocks with a defined length (e.g., a byte). Since thebinary contents of the messages are readily available from the time oftheir creation, a block transformation of the binary contents intodecimal numbers can be performed without significant resources and/oroperations. The decimal numbers are further assigned with a color valueor code, preferably a greyscale color value having a range of 0 to 255.

Specifically, the first message is translated into blocks b10, b11, b12. . . ; the second message is translated into blocks b20, b21, b22 . . .; the third message is translated into blocks b30, b31, b32 . . . ; thefourth message is translated into blocks b40, b41, b42 . . . ; the fifthmessage is translated into blocks b50, b51, b52 . . . ; and the sixthmessage is translated into blocks b60, b61, b62 . . . and so on. Theblock representation of the contents of the messages results in a matrix30 with a specific length (e.g., the number of rows) n and width (e.g.,the number of columns) m, where each block resembles an individualelement of the matrix 30. With the associated color values, the matrix30 is transformed into an image having the same resolution n×m of thematrix 30, therefore having a length of n and a width of m.

In this context, the length of the image n can be defined based on thenumber of messages in the message log 20. Alternatively, the length ofthe image n can be defined by a predefined number or length based onstatistical observation of a large number of message logs. Furthermore,the width of the image m can be defined by the largest message availablein the message log 20. Alternatively, the width of the image m can bedefined by the statistically observed predefined number. In either case,if a message having a length shorter than the width of the image n, themessage is padded with zeroes to match with the value n. Similarly, ifthe message log 20 comprises smaller number of messages than the lengthof the image m, the message log 20 is padded with zeroes to match withthe value m. Furthermore, if a message having a length greater than m,the message is treated up to the value m. Similarly, if the message log20 comprises greater number of messages than n, the message log 20 istreated only up to the value n.

Thus, the message contents are translated into symbols with differentcolor values and are stacked on top of each other in a form of matrix 30having a finite number of symbols. Since the messages are padded to acommon length, the resolution n×m of the matrix 30 represents an imageof the translated messages with a defined length n and width m.

In FIG. 5, a generated image of a message log 20 is illustrated by wayof example only. The image corresponds to the greyscale representationof the matrix, for instance the matrix 30 shown in FIG. 4, having aresolution of n×m. Herein, the image has a length n of 100 and a width mof 100. Each message of the message log 20 represents a line in theimage, which displays the sequence of symbols for the respective messagefrom left to right, thereby defining the length of the message contentalong the width of the image m. Furthermore, the length of the image ncorresponds to the number of messages of the message log 20 that aretransformed and are hereby distributed from bottom to top. It can beseen that the message log 20 is zero padded at the end of the length nnear the value 100. It can be further observed that the length of themessages, i.e., the length of the sequence of the symbols for thetranslated messages differ from each other and some are required to bezero padded to match with the image width m.

In FIG. 6, a second exemplary embodiment of block-wise transformationscheme for the messages of a message log 20 is illustrated. Theblock-wise transformation scheme illustrated herein differs from theblock-wise transformation scheme of FIG. 4 in that the messages of themessage log 20 are now segmented or grouped in two subgroups.Particularly, the first message, the second message and the fourthmessage are grouped into the first subgroup 41 whereas the thirdmessage, the fifth message and the sixth message are grouped into thesecond subgroup 42. In this context, each subgroup 41, 42 is definedwith a matrix having a defined resolution, for instance n×m as discussedbefore, identical to each other. As a result, each subgroup 41, 42corresponds to an individual matrix 30 of FIG. 4 comprising sequences ofsymbols respective to the messages associated with it.

At this point, the subgroups 41, 42 are stacked on top of each otherthereby generating a three-dimensional image 43 with a number ofchannels equal to the number of subgroups 41, 42. It is important tonote that the number of messages in the message log 20 and the number ofsubgroups 41, 42 are described herein by way of example only and not forlimitation. Different number of messages in the message log (e.g., feweror more than six messages) as well as different number of subgroups(e.g., more than two subgroups) are also defined within the scope of theinvention. Furthermore, the messages corresponding to each subgroup 41,42 are exchangeable albeit they are partially illustrated.

The embodiments of the present invention can be implemented by hardware,software, or any combination thereof. Various embodiments of the presentinvention may be implemented by one or more application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digitalsignal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,microcontrollers, microprocessors, or the like.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only, and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosedembodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the breadthand scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of theabove described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the invention shouldbe defined in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described with respectto one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modificationswill occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading andunderstanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. Inaddition, while a particular feature of the invention may have beendisclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, suchfeature may be combined with one or more other features of the otherimplementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given orparticular application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for transforming message logs intoimages comprises the steps of: receiving a message log comprising aplurality of messages, selecting a content of at least one message,transforming the content block-wise into decimal numbers, associatingeach decimal number with a color value thereby translating each messageinto a sequence of symbols, and generating an image from the symbols ofthe plurality of messages.
 2. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe method further comprises the step of continuously receiving theplurality of messages in a chronological order and thereby transformingthe messages sequentially.
 3. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe method further comprises the step of selecting the content accordingto a predefined metric adapted for machine learning analysis.
 4. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein a length of the sequence of symbolsis defined by a respective length of a message.
 5. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the image corresponds to a matrix having a finitedimension, where the elements of the matrix correspond to the symbols ofthe plurality of messages.
 6. The method according to claim 5, whereinthe length of the matrix corresponds to the number of messages in themessage log and wherein the width of the matrix corresponds to thelongest possible length of a message, which is available in the messagelog at the time of transformation.
 7. The method according to claim 6,wherein the method further comprises the steps of: padding a messagewith zeroes in the case the length of the message is shorter than thewidth of the matrix, and transforming a message up to the width of thematrix in the case the length of the message is longer than the width ofthe matrix.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the color valueis a greyscale color value having a range of 0-255.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step ofsectioning the plurality of messages into at least two subgroupsaccording to a predefined criteria.
 10. The method according to claim 9,wherein the subgroups of the plurality of messages are interchangeable.11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the method furthercomprises the step of defining a specific matrix for each subgrouphaving a common dimension.
 12. The method according to claim 11, whereinthe method further comprises the step of generating a three-dimensionalimage corresponding to the matrices of the subgroups.
 13. A system fortransforming message logs into images comprises: an interface unitadapted to receive a message log comprising a plurality of messages, aselection unit adapted to select a content of at least one message, anda translation unit adapted to perform block-wise transformation on thecontent for transforming the content into decimal numbers, wherein thetranslation unit is further adapted to associate each decimal numberwith a color value in order to translate each message into a sequence ofsymbols, thereby generating an image from the symbols of the pluralityof messages.
 14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the interfaceunit is further adapted to receive the plurality of messagescontinuously in a chronological order and whereby the messages aresequentially transformed by the translation unit.
 15. The systemaccording to claim 13, wherein the system further comprises a controlunit adapted to provide a control signal to the selection unit forcontent selection, corresponding to a predefined metric, which isadapted for machine learning analysis.
 16. The system according to claim15, wherein the control unit is further adapted to provide a controlsignal to the translation unit corresponding to transformationparameters in order to perform the block-wise transformation of thecontent.
 17. The system according to claim 14, wherein the systemfurther comprises a storage unit for storing the plurality of messagesof the message log in the chronological order.
 18. The system accordingto claim 17, wherein the storage unit is updated periodically.
 19. Thesystem according to claim 13, wherein the system is adapted to receive aset of message logs via the interface unit, each comprising a pluralityof messages.
 20. The system according to claim 19, wherein thetranslation unit is further adapted to generate a set of imagescorresponding to the set of message logs either collectively orseparately.